Tennessee

Wow. It has been two weeks and one day since I last posted. Before proceeding too much farther into this post, I will record my October 30 weight loss as I neglected to do so last week. It was as follows:

Date: October 30, 2010
Current weight: 317.4 lbs
Weight loss from prior week: 5 lbs
Total weight loss: 20.6 lbs.

Your probably thinking, "What about yesterday's weight loss?" Long story short - I didn't weigh in yesterday. "Why didn't I weigh in yesterday?" Let me explain.

Last Sunday, October 31, I took off to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for a weeks worth of training that involves a portion of the job function I provide to my company. After having a 5 lb weight loss the week before, I was determined to make this trip as low-cal and beneficial as possible. Usually, when I go out of town, it is a restaurant free-for-all that results in me gaining at least 15 lbs of water weight and fat. I'm addicted to food and when I know my expenses are being reimbursed, I tend to let my addiction loose.

In preparation for my trip, I printed off point-totals for Subway (the sandwich makers) and researched what I could do to at least remotely prevent a binge from occurring. I tried to prepare myself for eventualities and play the 'if-then' game that DOS programmers used to play in the late 70's and early 80's. For example:

"IF I pass a Chinese buffet, THEN I will have a back up treat waiting at home if I am able to avoid eating there."

"IF I over eat at a meal, THEN I will pull myself up by the bootstraps and not let it be an excuse to fall off the wagon for the rest of the week," etc, etc, etc.

Recognizing that I am still in a fairly tenuous place with respect to my eating habits, I couldn't realistically believe that I was going to 'rock-the-week'. To do so would be to set myself up for failure. As such, and in the interest of complete transparency, I would like to detail how my week went.

Sunday, October 31: Debbie and the kids dropped me off at the airport at roughly 7:30 in the morning. It was good to have the last little bit of extra time with Debbie and the kids prior to leaving for a week.

After checking in, and recognizing that the first leg of the trip (SLC to Cincinnati) was going to be the long one, I looked around for a snack I could take that would keep me from going for the sodium-bomb nuts and sugar-filled beverages that would be served on the flight.

I found granola nut clusters that came to about 9 weight watcher points for the entire bag. That and a bottled water did the trick. I only had about 35 minutes to transfer when I got to Cincinnati so I did not purchase anything there. The nuts and water got me all the way to Knoxville without any incident.

Upon arrival at Knoxville, I obtained my rental car and drove to Oak Ridge. Being about 6:30 pm by the time I got to Oak Ridge, I pulled into Subway and had a footlong baked chicken breast on wheat (18 points with the chipotle dressing and still well within my points allowance).

Next stop was Walmart to pick up items that would help minimize what I ate for lunch and dinner over the next week. I purchased a 6 pack of 20 oz diet rootbeers, a package of high fiber granola bars, a Snickers candy bar, and a package of peanut m & m's justifying the purchase thusly: If a 500 - 600 calorie reward at the end of the day keeps me from a 3,500 calorie binge during the day, it will have been worth the trade off.

I checked into the hotel at about 7:15 pm and went up to my room. As the time differential was about 2 hours (7:15 pm my time, 5:15 pm Utah time) I had a hard time winding down and settling in for the evening. My mind began to wander to the 'rewards' I had tucked away in the mini-fridge. At about 10:00 pm my time, I broke down and ate them both. Failure. Learning experience: I can't be one-on-one with high-dose sugar. Nor can I keep a reward I'm so attached too within arm's reach.

Monday, November 1: Woke up at 6:00 am and prepared for the day. Left for class at 7:00 am and stopped at Subway on the way in to pick up breakfast. Had the bacon and egg white 6-inch on flat bread. Pretty good; very light breakfast. Class started at 8:00 am and went through noon. Had a granola bar for a snack during break time in between. Went back to Subway for lunch. Starting to get sick of Subway.

Class ended around 4:40 pm. Had dinner at Taco Bell. Nothing else for the rest of the night. did drink a diet rootbeer to take the 'need-to-eat edge off. It worked. Did well on Monday.

Tuesday, November 2: Same routine as Monday - unfortunately, can't stomach another trip to Subway. Had a granola bar and water for breakfast. Decided to try an experiment - eat enough to stave off cravings and end with an early, big meal. Took a granola bar and water for a snack.

Went back to the hotel for lunch and had another granola bar and bottled water. Still feeling good. Brought a diet rootbeer back to class with me to nurse throughout the afternoon.

Class ended at 4:30. Went to a place called Rudy's ( a dinner buffet) and ate while reading. I've never done this before - forced my self to read a half a page or so between bites. It was an illuminating experience. I found myself loosing concentrating on the book and thinking about the food. On the positive side, minimizing the amount of food I ate during the first 20 minutes allowed my brain to send the 'full' signal prior to me over-indulging. As a result, I didn't eat near as much as I otherwise would have. Lesson learned: slowing down while eating really does do something for you.

Went back to the hotel. Had a diet rootbeer during the night. Nothing else. I still felt overly full at bedtime and decided to reverse my experience the next day and see what happens.

Wednesday, November 3: Half-way mark! Really looking forward to seeing Debbie and the kids again. I decided to eat the breakfast buffet at the hotel this morning, taking the larger portion of my calories in earlier in the day. I had one plate of food that consisted of biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage and bacon. A lot of food... however, I remember the last time I was here (a year and a half earlier, same place, same hotel). I had the breakfast buffet every morning, and my portions were as I described above, times 3. Success.

Got stung for lunch. A couple of the locals in my class were talking about Buddy's BBQ in town and said it was pretty good, I needed to try it. I didn't plan on eating any more than a granola bar and water for lunch, due to the large breakfast. I wound up having BBQ and got pretty down on myself. After class, I wound up going to Sonic drive in for dinner. Day, not as good as I would have liked it to go. Lesson learned: Need an "IF - THEN" statement for unexpected food introductions. Interesting eventuality, however. I didn't feel too bad at the end of the day.

Thursday, November 4: Light at the end of the tunnel! Tried the large breakfast again, this time at Shoney's. The food at the hotel is just too heavy. Retrospective moment: Even though my portion was minimal compared to a year and half earlier, I changed my behavior based on how I felt, not what I wanted to eat. Small victory? maybe.

Granola bar'ed it for lunch and went back to Rudy's for dinner. This was due to shear laziness. Rudy's is right next to the hotel and I was tired after the day. I shouldn't have gone there. Employed the reading trick to minimize my intake. It worked. But I still ate too much.

Friday, November 5: Last day! Granola bar for breakfast this morning. Checked out and took my last rootbeer to class. Class let out at noon. Ate lunch at Subway in the local Walmart.

Interesting side note here. I wish I would have taken a picture, but I couldn't bring my self to do it. After eating lunch, I went to the bathroom in Walmart prior to driving back into Knoxville and to the airport. There was a sign above the stall I entered that read: "Please Use Manuel Flush." I smiled and wanted to start yelling, "Manuel! I need you to come flush the toilet!" But didn't have the heart. I'm pretty sure the sign meant to say, "Use Manual flush." Oh well; given the number of spelling / grammar errors in my writing, I have no room to toss rocks... it was still pretty funny, though.

I arrived at the airport, turned in my car and proceeded to fly from Knoxville to Atlanta. I had a two hour lay over in Atlanta. I had dinner at a Mexican joint in terminal T. Five hours later, I was home. Five hours and 15 minutes after leaving Atlanta, I started feeling sick. Eight hours and 15 minutes after leaving Atlanta, I was doing the technicolor yawn into the toilet. That happened a couple of more times before the night was done.

Saturday, November 6: Being as sick as I was, I missed my weigh in. I'm certain I gained weight during my time in Tennessee. I was actually interested in what my weight would reflect. I just couldn't drag myself out of bed.

All-in-all, I am not sure whether or not to label my experience in Tennessee a success or failure. I certainly stumbled on a couple of occasions yet I did not allow myself to completely fall off the wagon, toss in the towel, or lose all hope. I can honestly say I tried all the way up to the end. That being said, maybe next time will be a little better. And if it is, well, that's all I can hope for. Measurable progress over time; whether it be minimal or exponential. I'm at a place in life where I will take what I can get.